Good morning! Editor Nicole MacAdam (@nicole_mac1) here with your “all trade, all the time” business headlines, including why one representative from the auto industry said signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a “dumb move” for Canada.

TPP: Business reaction is mixed

t on a revised trade deal, forging ahead without the United States. The move comes exactly a year after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the TPP. The deal is expected to be signed in March.

Bottom line: Reaction to the news was mixed, reports Jesse Snyder, with business leaders saying that industries such as seafood, mining, non-dairy agriculture and forest products would see some relief. But representatives of the auto industry slammed the deal, writes Alicja Siekierska, saying it weakens Canada’s position in the NAFTA negotiations, the latest round of which got underway yesterday in Montreal.

Quote: “If you want to sell cars out of the back door of the factory to Canadian consumers, you are going to have to compete with a TPP-sourced car that does not have to meet any of the higher NAFTA requirements… You are conceding your home market.” — Flavio Volpe, president of the Auto Parts Manufacturers’ Association

Hackers steal Bell customer data

Hackers have illegally accessed information about Bell Canada customers for the second time in eight months, obtaining fewer than 100,000 names and email addresses, and a number of phone numbers, user names and account numbers. The RCMP is investigating the data breach, reports Emily Jackson.

Bottom line: Data theft of large amounts of information has made headlines over the past few years, leaving some consumers fearful about the security of their personal information. “There is no indication that any credit card or other banking information was accessed,” BCE spokesman Marc Choma said in a statement.

Cara swallows The Keg

Cara Operations is further solidifying its foothold in the upscale dining mass market, acquiring Keg Restaurants, more than two decades after setting its sights on the steakhouse chain. In addition to the Keg, Cara’s “premium” portfolio includes Milestones, Bier Markt, and Landing, reports Hollie Shaw. Cara also announced it will change its name after the deal closes, expected to be this spring.

Bottom line: Under the terms of the deal, Cara will pay Keg’s shareholders Fairfax Financial Holdings and Aisenstat $105 million in cash and 3.8 million Cara subordinate voting shares. Another $30 million could be paid if the company achieves certain financial milestones in the three years after the deal closes.

Quote: “Cara is cherry picking some of the top brands within the Canadian marketplace — brands with a good strong customer base, good loyalty and history of growth,” — Robert Carter, executive director of foodservice at NPD.

‘This isn’t an episode of Columbo’

Things got testy at the NEB’s hearing on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as a lawyer for the city of Burnaby grilled the company about it knew that a section of the project went through a planned conservation area. At one point, Kinder Morgan’s lawyer cut in, saying “This isn’t an episode of Columbo,” Douglas Quan reports.

Bottom line: Ottawa gave its conditional approval to the project in fall 2016, approving a 150-metre wide corridor within which the pipeline could be built. The current hearings are focused on a 35-kilometre stretch of the proposed pipeline that would go through parts of Burnaby, Coquitlam and Surrey.

Aurora, CanniMed talks down to the wire

With only a day to go until CanniMed Therapeutics shareholders are set to vote on a takeover of Newstrike Resources, the company remains locked in a separate set of negotiations with Aurora, reports Mark Rendell. CanniMed and Aurora have twice extended a “standstill” deadline that was set last week.

Quote: “It’s not surprising to see these kinds of developments in the eleventh hour with M&As. Both sides were running the playbook and rallying their shareholder bases around their pitches for what they wanted. But for all the rhetoric … they’re business people and they can still arrive at an agreement.” — Russell Stanley, analyst with Echelon Wealth Partners.